Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta jet from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson told. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Emergency medical services said they assessed five patients, and took three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that global warming is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

Paramedics reported they received a call just three minutes before the plane arrived, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is growing more common - and often stronger.

Last year, two dozen individuals were hurt when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight went through a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a aircraft going through rough air masses generate greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As climate change alters weather patterns, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.